Hazel Winifred (Johnson) Brown PhD (1927 - 2011)

Born 10 Oct 1927 in West Chester, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA

Died 5 Aug 2011 at age 83 in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, USA

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Biography

Hazel (Johnson) Brown PhD is Notable.

Hazel Winifred Johnson was the daughter of the late, Clarence L. Johnson, Sr. and Garnett Henley Johnson. She was one of seven children. Hazel grew up on her father's farm in Chester County, near the town of Malvern. When she was twelve, she was inspired to become a nurse by a local white public health nurse. Her application to the West Chester School of Nursing was rejected because she was black. She moved to New York City, enrolled in the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in 1947 and received her diploma from the school in 1950.

Military Career

Johnson joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1955, shortly after President Harry Truman banned segregation and discrimination in the armed services. For the first 12 years, she served in various positions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; in the 8169th Hospital, Japan; at Madigan General Hospital; in 45th Surgical Hospital; and at Fort Sam Houston and Valley Forge General Hospitals. Continuing her education during this period, she received a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from Villanova University in 1959, and a Master's Degree in Nursing Education from Columbia University in 1963.

From 1967 to 1973, she was assigned as Project Director at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command in the Army Medical Department Field Hospital System. She also earned a Doctorate in in Educational Administration from Catholic University.

Upon completion of her doctoral studies, she was appointed Director of the Walter Reed Army Institute for Nursing; the Office of the Surgeon; the 8th Army Command; and Chief, Department of Nursing, U.S. Army Hospital/121 Evacuation Hospital, Seoul, Korea. In these positions, she was the senior ranking U.S. military nurse in South Korea and the Chief Consultant for Nursing Matters to the Senior Medical Officer, 8th Army Command.

In 1979, she was selected to the position of Chief, Army Nurse Corps, and promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. In this action, General Johnson-Brown became: the 16th Chief of the Army Nurse Corps; the first Chief holding an earned doctorate; the 4th Chief to hold the rank of Brigadier General; and the first black woman General in the history of the U.S. Military Services.

As Chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, she was responsible for 7,000 men and women nurses in the Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves. Brigadier General Johnson-Brown was also responsible for eight Army medical centers, 56 community hospitals, and 143 freestanding clinics in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to her retirement from the military, she also served as an Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program of the School of Nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing from 1976 to 1978. Here her primary responsibility was for training the students that were to be sent to military health facilities around the world.

Brigadier General Johnson-Brown retired from active duty in 1983.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal Army Commendation Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster

Honors

She was twice named the Army Nurse of the Year Professor of Nursing Emeritus, George Mason University Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

In Retirement

General Johnson-Brown was a tremendous educator and continued to add to her legacy even after her retirement from the military. During this time period, she served as Director of Government Affairs for the American Nursing Association; as an Adjunct Professor of Nursing at George Washington University, and as a Professor of Nursing at George Mason University. While at George Mason University she helped found the Center for Health Policy. This center's purpose was to educate and involve nurses in health policy and police design.

Death and Burial

Brigadier General Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown died in Wilmington, DE, on 5 August 2011. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

Sources

• https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=10516
• https://www.online.drexel.edu/news/digital-dragon.aspx/year-of-the-nurse-johnson-brown
• https://advancement.gmu.edu/s/1564/GID2/16/interior-1col.aspx?sid=1564&gid=2&sitebuilder=1&pgid=3113
• Langer,Emily. "Hazel Johnson-Brown, Army nurse who was first black female general, dies at 83" Washington Post, Aug 18, 2011.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Johnson-Brown
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHD7-X2Q : accessed 16 December 2020), Hazel Johnson in household of Garnett Johnson, East Whiteland, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 35, sheet 9A, line 46, family 176, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2019; FHL microfilm 2,341,753.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQHC-5PK : 20 August 2019), Hazel Johnson in household of Clarence L Johnson, West Whiteland Township, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 15-126, sheet 9B, line 62, family 158, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3467.
• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQNJ-647 : 4 December 2020), Hazel W Johnsonbrown, 05 Aug 2011; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 December 2020), memorial page for Dr Hazel Winifred Johnson Johnson-Brown (10 Oct 1927–5 Aug 2011),Find A Grave: Memorial #74661734, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Jeff Pincin Sr. (contributor 47078578) .